Mother's Keepers
"Mother's Keepers" is an unproduced episode of Miami Vice, thought to be from the show's second or third season. Summary The case of a murdered mother and a stolen baby hits Gina hard, and moves her to reveal a very personal secret. Plot Crockett, Tubbs and Gina are in court for the trial of a drug dealer they have arrested. To their surprise, the judge hands out the maximum sentence possible to the defendant, and as they jubilantly leave the courtroom they decide they should go and see Lisa, the informant that made the conviction possible, and buy her dinner as a thank you. They also realise they have been so busy they must have missed the birth of her child, and Gina buys the newborn a teddy bear as a gift. They arrive at Lisa's apartment building to find it surrounded by emergency vehicles. As Lisa's body is brought out a detective tells the Vice officers that she was high on drugs and fell to her death down a stairwell. The investigation into Lisa's death quickly reveals there is more at play than simple murder as her newborn child is missing. Lisa had arranged to sell her baby to a new family through a sleazy female lawyer called Harrison, but once the child was actually born she reneged on the deal and Harrison had her killed. Harrison's hired thug also stole the baby so that adoption could go ahead as planned, although he was unable to recover the $10,000 Lisa had already been paid for the child. Despite the horrific circumstances surrounding the adoption, the child's new parents cherish and adore their beautiful new baby, unaware of what has really happened. The Vice team soon find out about the illegal adoption, and the baby is taken from its adoptive parents and placed in foster care until the case can be solved, despite their heartbroken pleas. Lisa's parents also find out about the child, and demand it be returned to them so that they may bring it up as its biological grandparents. They also want the $10,000 Lisa had been paid, arguing that she would have returned the money to Harrison given how she had decided to keep her child, but now that she was dead they deserved it for themselves. Their suggestion is met with criticism, and regardless the money has been confiscated as evidence. At OCB, the Vice team discover that Lisa's father used to beat her, and that she had run away from home upon discovering she was pregnant for fear of what he would do to her and her unborn, illegitimate child. Gina in particular is sickened by the situation, angrily condemning the notion of returning the baby to its grandparents, claiming that they would only harm the child as they had Lisa and that all they are interested in is the money. When they are alone, Crockett asks her what it is about the case that has her so upset, and a tearful Gina admits that she had fallen pregnant once and had the child aborted. She knows she wasn't ready to be a mother, but she regrets the decision every day of her life. Crockett comforts her, and she restates her desire to see the case through professionally. Crockett and Gina pose as a married couple desperate to adopt a child in order to set up Harrison. At a meeting, Crockett tells her that they have been trying unsuccessfully for years to conceive, but he is unable to father a baby. Harrison promises she can help. At the same time, Tubbs begins using one of Harrison's assistants as an informant after she tells him that she wants no more to do with the illegal adoptions. That evening, Gina has dinner with Crockett on the St. Vitus Dance, and Crockett opens up to her about his estranged relationship with his son Billy, and how the day he was born was the happiest of his life. Harrison's hired thug kills the assistant who is now giving information to the Vice team with a bomb planted in a health clinic, but Switek and Zito trace his van to his place of residence. Crockett and Tubbs go there to arrest him, and during a shootout Crockett shoots and wounds the thug, allowing him to be taken into custody. Realising she will soon be discovered, Harrison tries to make good her escape. Deciding her office is probably bugged, she uses a payphone at a water park to book a flight out of the city. Crockett, Tubbs and Gina follow her, by she easily spots them amongst the masses of children in swimsuits and she takes off running, breaking one of her stiletto heels in the process. Gina catches up and grabs her, but Harrison knocks her down, snatches up Gina's gun, and grabs a nearby child as a human shield. Despite having her own weapon pointed back at her, Gina keeps advancing, perhaps driven by her guilt at aborting her own unborn child. Harrison backs off, unwilling to shoot, when her remaining high heel breaks and she tumbles. Gina grabs the child, but Harrison topples over a railing into one of the water park rides and is swept away, drowning as she is carried down the entire length of the artificial river. The story ends with Crockett and Gina personally giving the baby back to the couple who had adopted it originally, having decided that they were the people best suited to giving the infant a good upbringing. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Notes * The script bears several similarities to the season 3 episode "Baby Blues", however these similarities are apparently coincidental. * While it is not known which season the episode was originally intended for, the presence of Lieutenant Castillo places it after "One Eyed Jack". Similarly, Larry Zito is mentioned, indicating it was to take place before "Down for the Count (Part I)". The script's writer, Gustave Reininger, also penned season 3's "Forgive Us Our Debts", indicating this script may have been written around that time. *The title is an obvious reference to "Brother's Keeper", although the story bears no relation. It is also a play on the phrase "finders, keepers". *The script hints at unresolved romantic feelings between Crockett and Gina left over from their on-off relationship in season 1 (something that is also implied in season 4's "Blood & Roses"). Category:Unmade episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Season 3